Unable to obtain the three required UC seats for our bi annual cruise and trip to Disney world this year we opted for PE with the addition of the Guest List package.
having read the forum both pros and cons re the Guest list package I felt the door to door service, the drop off and the meet and greet at the upper level at Gatwick would remove the need for my wife having to be a beast of burden and porter with all our luggage and it would allow us to have the start to our holiday on a high.
A bit of back ground on me... I was injured in the aftermath of the 1991 Gulf war and due to that I am a full time wheelchair user and because of my head injury I lost 50% of my life history including all memories of my wife and children......memories sadly none of which to this day have ever returned (the worst part of acquiring a life changing disability is the frustration of being dependent on others). On a positive my wife and I remarried 8 years ago and now try to recreate new memories to hold on to. Trips with my wife and daughter who is now 27 years old allow me to do the things a dad would have done with their children in their early years and build new memories, Disney in a funny sort of way allow the child in us all to reveal it’s self.........pushing back the lost years in my case.
Well the day before our flight I received the call to confirm the arrival timings of the car early in the morning next day. I had when I booked the package informed the person at the other end of the line that an estate car would not be big enough, for three adults 5 suitcases and my rather sporty wheelchair. I was assured that this had been duly noted. Well the very pleasant person on the phone informed me that the car would be with us at 06.00. I asked to confirm that it was a people mover that was required and not a car as they had arranged. Needless to say it took a few more calls but we were told that a larger vehicle was being dispatched to us in the morning (despite requesting on more than three occasions what has one got to do to be heard in these situations...06.00 on the morning of a flight is not the time to be on the curb side arguing with a driver that the vehicle they have arrived in is totally impractical for the trip?)
On a positive the vehicle that arrived had with great ease completely swallowed us all up, people, cases and wheelchair in total comfort and with room to spare which was in such contrast to anything we had experienced during previous expeditions. The drive took about an hour and a half and it was very refreshing to be allowed access to drive straight to the upper lever at Gatwick, how I yearn for a return of the good old days when that was the norm! I had so foolish in all this taken the following extract to be factual (taken from an email received promoting the Guest list package)
“Door to Door Service
If you like the idea of being chauffeured from your front door, you’ll love stepping out into our Upper Class Wing at London Heathrow. It’s an oasis of calm that lets you effortlessly check in and head directly to our Private Security Channel.
Fly from London Gatwick and you’ll enjoy a curbside drop off. Check in from the comfort of your chauffeur driven car while your bags are collected and your boarding card is issued.”
Link to the full email
http://ebm.cheetahmail.com/c/tag/hBSHfB ... %2520Allen
Anyway with the bags and faithful chariot unloaded at the curb side, it was then very obvious that one of the main reasons for using the guest list package was not going to materialise “The baggage collection”. The chuffer then asked us for a pound coin so he could get us a trolley, hey ho, my chivalrous plan to allow my wife and daughter the dignity of not having to struggle with a trolley loaded with bags through the airport totally evaporated. Might not seem a major thing to many of you...but to me it mattered greatly...though what could I do about it. To add salt to the wound the flipping trolley had a locked wheel which meant it had absolutely no intention of going in the direction we wanted it to...I am sure I will laugh about it all one day...just not now!
Anyway we trudged over through tunnel to the terminal and on to the UC check in, were efficiently “processed”. Surly at the UC desks they could have someone to help folk put cases on to the scales again beyond my physical capability. We then headed to the club house, via the special assistance security channel, had the option of the fast track channel but our queue was smaller and proved to be the quickest.
Once in the calm of the CH every thing improved 100 fold The staff very attentive and my wife and daughter had managed to book their treatments and even I opted for the shave. A good breakfast and a few Redheads seemed to have restored my faith in the world and VA.
On arrival at Orlando our bags were the first off and the disabled labels meant they were automatically unloaded for us
I will do the trip reports separately in other postings
The return trip
I had managed to purchase some Delta sky lounge passes on Ebay which allowed access to any Delta sky lounge regardless of the airline flown, normally $50 each but managed to buy three for $20. The lounge did offer us some where to escape the hustle and bustle below in the terminal, it was incredibly clean on this occasion and the wifi absolutely rocketed. Not to club house standard but I would use again if the bargain available on eBay!
On arrival at back at Gatwick we were met by our chuffer who immediately took charge of the baggage trolley and sorted everything out in a very professional manner. Even when we arrived home he made the effort to sort out all the cases for my other half going well beyond the call of duty in my opinion
Would I use the Guest list again for Gatwick travel, well....yes but only if they sort the meet, greet and baggage collection out. We live at the extreme edge of the mileage range, to date we have never managed to book a vehicle that meets our needs, tri star managed this (admittedly with some prompting) so the value of it roughly works out on a par with separate lounge access purchase and booking our own travel to and fro the airport separately
having read the forum both pros and cons re the Guest list package I felt the door to door service, the drop off and the meet and greet at the upper level at Gatwick would remove the need for my wife having to be a beast of burden and porter with all our luggage and it would allow us to have the start to our holiday on a high.
A bit of back ground on me... I was injured in the aftermath of the 1991 Gulf war and due to that I am a full time wheelchair user and because of my head injury I lost 50% of my life history including all memories of my wife and children......memories sadly none of which to this day have ever returned (the worst part of acquiring a life changing disability is the frustration of being dependent on others). On a positive my wife and I remarried 8 years ago and now try to recreate new memories to hold on to. Trips with my wife and daughter who is now 27 years old allow me to do the things a dad would have done with their children in their early years and build new memories, Disney in a funny sort of way allow the child in us all to reveal it’s self.........pushing back the lost years in my case.
Well the day before our flight I received the call to confirm the arrival timings of the car early in the morning next day. I had when I booked the package informed the person at the other end of the line that an estate car would not be big enough, for three adults 5 suitcases and my rather sporty wheelchair. I was assured that this had been duly noted. Well the very pleasant person on the phone informed me that the car would be with us at 06.00. I asked to confirm that it was a people mover that was required and not a car as they had arranged. Needless to say it took a few more calls but we were told that a larger vehicle was being dispatched to us in the morning (despite requesting on more than three occasions what has one got to do to be heard in these situations...06.00 on the morning of a flight is not the time to be on the curb side arguing with a driver that the vehicle they have arrived in is totally impractical for the trip?)
On a positive the vehicle that arrived had with great ease completely swallowed us all up, people, cases and wheelchair in total comfort and with room to spare which was in such contrast to anything we had experienced during previous expeditions. The drive took about an hour and a half and it was very refreshing to be allowed access to drive straight to the upper lever at Gatwick, how I yearn for a return of the good old days when that was the norm! I had so foolish in all this taken the following extract to be factual (taken from an email received promoting the Guest list package)
“Door to Door Service
If you like the idea of being chauffeured from your front door, you’ll love stepping out into our Upper Class Wing at London Heathrow. It’s an oasis of calm that lets you effortlessly check in and head directly to our Private Security Channel.
Fly from London Gatwick and you’ll enjoy a curbside drop off. Check in from the comfort of your chauffeur driven car while your bags are collected and your boarding card is issued.”
Link to the full email
http://ebm.cheetahmail.com/c/tag/hBSHfB ... %2520Allen
Anyway with the bags and faithful chariot unloaded at the curb side, it was then very obvious that one of the main reasons for using the guest list package was not going to materialise “The baggage collection”. The chuffer then asked us for a pound coin so he could get us a trolley, hey ho, my chivalrous plan to allow my wife and daughter the dignity of not having to struggle with a trolley loaded with bags through the airport totally evaporated. Might not seem a major thing to many of you...but to me it mattered greatly...though what could I do about it. To add salt to the wound the flipping trolley had a locked wheel which meant it had absolutely no intention of going in the direction we wanted it to...I am sure I will laugh about it all one day...just not now!
Anyway we trudged over through tunnel to the terminal and on to the UC check in, were efficiently “processed”. Surly at the UC desks they could have someone to help folk put cases on to the scales again beyond my physical capability. We then headed to the club house, via the special assistance security channel, had the option of the fast track channel but our queue was smaller and proved to be the quickest.
Once in the calm of the CH every thing improved 100 fold The staff very attentive and my wife and daughter had managed to book their treatments and even I opted for the shave. A good breakfast and a few Redheads seemed to have restored my faith in the world and VA.
On arrival at Orlando our bags were the first off and the disabled labels meant they were automatically unloaded for us
I will do the trip reports separately in other postings
The return trip
I had managed to purchase some Delta sky lounge passes on Ebay which allowed access to any Delta sky lounge regardless of the airline flown, normally $50 each but managed to buy three for $20. The lounge did offer us some where to escape the hustle and bustle below in the terminal, it was incredibly clean on this occasion and the wifi absolutely rocketed. Not to club house standard but I would use again if the bargain available on eBay!
On arrival at back at Gatwick we were met by our chuffer who immediately took charge of the baggage trolley and sorted everything out in a very professional manner. Even when we arrived home he made the effort to sort out all the cases for my other half going well beyond the call of duty in my opinion
Would I use the Guest list again for Gatwick travel, well....yes but only if they sort the meet, greet and baggage collection out. We live at the extreme edge of the mileage range, to date we have never managed to book a vehicle that meets our needs, tri star managed this (admittedly with some prompting) so the value of it roughly works out on a par with separate lounge access purchase and booking our own travel to and fro the airport separately
